The effect of cultural background on attitude toward collaborative consumption on the website Withlocals A cross-cultural comparison between Turkey and The Netherlands
Faculty of Humanities Communication and Information Sciences Master Thesis
Susanne Geboers ANR: 676016
First reader: Dr. A. el Aissati Second reader: Dr. P.K. Varis 20/01/2014 Acknowledgements
This thesis signifies the perfect ending to a stimulating, informative and exciting university period of 4,5 years. I could not have been where I am right now if it were not for my parents, Onur, friends and especially my grandmother Oma Ali. I would like to thank all these people for being in my life and giving me support and happiness. Especially with regard to this thesis, I would like to thank dr. A. el Aissati for his creativity, friendliness, humor and support throughout my entire thesis period. He truly is a great professor and I am honored to have been able to write my thesis under his supervision. Also, I would like to thank dr. P.K. Varis, for being the second reader. Lastly, I would like to thank all the respondents for making time in their busy schedules for me and providing me with useful and interesting answers.
2 Abstract This study investigated the effect of cultural background on the attitudes of Dutch and Turkish young adults toward collaborative consumption on the website Withlocals. The influence of culture is defined by the dimensions of uncertainty avoidance, collectivism versus individualism, power distance, masculinity versus femininity and long term orientation versus short term orientation. Directions of attitude are identified as the attitude toward the website Withlocals and the attitude toward the local host in Southeast Asia. In-depth interviews were conducted with 10 Dutch respondents from the province of Noord-Brabant and 10 Turkish respondents coming from the city of Istanbul. All respondents are between the ages of 20-30 years old and have a good knowledge of the English language. Answers given by the respondents were partly directly asked for and partly self-declared. The transcripts of the interviews were coded and the dimensions of national cultures were used as main coding categories. Furthermore, several sub-categories and classifications were identified. Results indicate various consequences with regard to website design, such as the possibility to add reviews/ratings, and to create salience by the use of pictures. Among others, results indicate that Turkish respondents prefer a host with a similar social status and place more importance on maintaining contact with the host after the experience. On the other hand, Dutch respondents would like to see reviews about the website Withlocals on an independent website, place great importance on a host who is on time for the experience and attach less importance to maintaining a relationship with the host after the experience. In addition, this study presents practical implications and directions for future research.
Keywords: collaborative consumption, social sharing, collectivism, individualism, masculinity, femininity, uncertainty avoidance, power distance, long term orientation, short term orientation, Turkey, The Netherlands, attitude, personal connection, Withlocals.
3 Table of contents Introduction p.6 Chapter 1: Theoretical Framework p.8 - Withlocals p.8 - Dimensions of Culture p.9 o Uncertainty Avoidance p.10 o Collectivism versus Individualism p.11 o Power Distance p.12 o Masculinity versus Femininity p.13 o Long Term Orientation versus Short Term Orientation p.12 - Attitude p.14 - Attitude toward the website Withlocals p.15 - Attitude toward the local host p.17 - Conceptual Model p.18 - The Dutch Culture p.19 - The Turkish Culture p.21 - Research Questions p.22 Chapter 2: Method and Design p.23 - Research Design p.23 - Informants p.24 - Procedure p.25 - Data Analysis p.26 Chapter 3: Results p.28 - Uncertainty Avoidance p.29 o Verification of the host p.29 o Verification of the website Withlocals p.30 o Anticipation of the experience p.31 o Navigation on the website p.32 o Anxiety about online payment p.33 - Collectivism versus Individualism p.33 o Inclusion in social circle p.35 o Punctuality p.36 o Family influence p.38
4 o Personal connection p.39 - Power Distance p.42 o Hierarchy p.42 - Masculinity versus Femininity p.43 o Intrinsic motives p.43 o Consensus between the tourist and the host p.44 o Competitive gain p.44 - Long Term Orientation versus Short Term Orientation p.44 o Reciprocal intentions p.45 Chapter 4: Discussion and Conclusion p.46 - Limitations of this research p.50 - Practical implications p.51 - Academic implications and recommendations for future research p.52 References p.53 Appendix A: Interview Guideline p.57 Appendix B: Questionnaire p.60 Appendix C: Fake Host Pages p.62 Appendix D: Hand-out p.64 Appendix E: Sub-categories and classifications p.65
5 Introduction
Nowadays, with the rise of the networked society, a great deal of social encounters move to the online environment in which people have the opportunity to reach out to literally every corner of the world (Kaspersen, 2000). This development has an immense impact on the tourism industry, and massive tourism agencies are increasingly experiencing competition from companies started based on the idea of collaborative consumption. Collaborative consumption can be defined as experiences in which one or more individuals consume economic products or series in the occasion of participating in shared activities with one or more others (Leismann, Schmitt, Rohn and Baedeker, 2013). It departs from the idea of ‘what’s mine is yours’ and enables people to save money, create new friendships and become active consumers instead of participate in hyper- consumption (Botsman and Rogers, 2011). Collaborative consumption is not something new; it actually exists for a long time already. Think about lending a study book from a classmate, sharing an apartment with house-mates or carpooling with others to a similar destination. However, it is because of the rapid developments in technology that collaborative consumption has reached its peak in the past few years (Bainbridge, 2013). Especially, the interconnected environment of smart phones and social media provide the ideal platform for an effortless access to a communal economy (Bainbridge, 2013). In the tourism industry, there are several platforms which evolved from the spirit of collaborate consumption. For instance, Airbnb is a website that enables individuals to rent out their room, house or apartment to guests on holiday in a particular city. Instead of paying money to massive hotel chains or booking agencies, Airbnb facilitates a person-to-person transaction. Moreover, Couchsurfing is created with the motivation of connecting people worldwide. The idea is to offer one’s couch to a traveler, and to show him/her the city one lives in. Also, PlateCulture is a platform on which people can host dinners to other food-lovers, and introduce guests to their cooking skills and cuisine. A recent addition to join the league of collaborative consumption companies is the start-up Withlocals. The aim of this platform is to connect travelers and locals in Southeast Asia through home-cooked dinners, tours and activities. Just like Airbnb, a person-to- person transaction is being made, without the intervention of big tour operators. However, one can wonder, due to the global nature of social sharing, what influence does culture have on the expectations and preferences of consumers who actually engage in one of these communities? After all, not one culture is the same and aspects such as uncertainty avoidance, collectivism versus individualism, power distance, masculinity versus femininity and long-term versus short-term
6 orientation could possibly play a role in one’s attitude toward booking a dinner, apartment, couch, tour or activity with an individual at the other side of the world. This study aims to investigate this, and makes a cross-cultural comparison between Turkish and Dutch young adults, living in the city of Istanbul and the Dutch province of Noord-Brabant respectively. Furthermore, Withlocals will be used as the platform under investigation. Hence, the following research question is raised: Does cultural background influence the attitudes of Turkish and Dutch young adults toward collaborative consumption on the platform Withlocals?
7 Chapter 1
Theoretical Framework
When discussing the attitude of a person toward a certain product, it should be taken into account that in this study, the product is not a material object. On the contrary, the product is a service provided by a person and because of this, the aspect of personal relationship is important to take into account. Characteristics of the service can be evaluated differently by different individuals. Based on a person’s cultural background, diverse expectations and preferences concerning this aspect of personal relationship in the buyer-seller situation may arise. In this study, the platform under investigation is Withlocals, a website which aims to connect locals in Southeast Asia and tourists directly, without the intervention of big tourism agencies. Before discussing the various dimensions of culture that could have an influence of an individual’s attitude, it is important to fully understand the structure of the website Withlocals. An explanation about this platform will be presented below.
Withlocals
The website Withlocals is part of the Greenhouse Group, and it is founded by Marijn Maas, Willem Maas and Mark Mansveld. The team was later joined by Ronald Crooy (CTO), Gino van de Staaij (Senior Experience Manager), various designers, developers, marketers, conversion specialists, web analysts and interns. The idea is that the local population in Southeast Asia can offer ‘experiences’ to tourists from all over the world. These ‘experiences’ can be divided into ‘tour’, ‘eat’ and ‘activity’. An ‘eat’ refers to a home dinner organized by the local, in which he or she invites the tourist to cook together or to simply let the tourist taste the local cuisine. The ‘tour’ speaks for itself, it refers to a tour organized by a local, in which he or she shows the tourist a city’s attractions and highlights while giving information. An ‘activity’ refers to an active experience organized by the local. This could for instance be a Thai boxing class, an afternoon in which the local teaches the tourist how to drive a Tuk-Tuk, or a fruit-carving workshop. All experiences differ in duration. For instance, tours and activities can vary from one day to multiple days, resulting in the possibility of booking a complete tour or activity package on the website. Also, a home dinner can last only a few hours, or it may cover an entire evening in which the local and tourist cook various dishes together. Withlocals is a start-up, meaning that the official launch only took place recently, namely in December 2013. Both tourists and locals can create profiles on the website in which they tell
8 something about themselves. In addition, both parties can rate each other and indicate whether or not this particular person is nice to spend time with. The launching countries in Southeast Asia include Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Vietnam. In order to book an experience, the tourist will be able to see the local’s availability and price on the website. Departing from the idea of Withlocals, this study aims to discover differences and similarities concerning the expectations and preferences on the side of the Dutch and Turkish consumers. Two directions of attitude will be explored, namely the attitude toward the website Withlocals and the attitude toward the local host. As stated before, based on a person’s cultural background, differences in attitude toward the aspect of personal relationship may be present. Therefore, it is essential to look at various dimensions which are important when defining the notion of culture.
Dimensions of Culture
Culture is an important element to elaborate upon when discussing an individual’s attitude. After all, it plays a major role in an individual’s upbringing and is inherent to a person’s psychological processes and value system (Bronfenbrenner, 1979; Gudykunst and Ting-Toomey, 1988). A value system stands for ‘an enduring belief of a very specific kind’ and just like attitude, has a behavioral, affective and cognitive component (de Mooij, 2004, p. 24). It refers to what is considered the most appropriate and desirable by an individual (Shiraev and Levy, 2010). This value system stems from the reference group of one’s socio-ecological environment. As argued by social identity theory, social relationships are a significant aspect of the self-concept and a major part of one’s identity is acquired through group-membership, which can be found in the direct environment a person finds him or herself in (Brown, 1998; Barker and Ota, 2011). Furthermore, this effect of one’s environment already starts at the beginning of an individual’s development and has several structures on a macro, exo, meso and micro level (Shaffer, 2009). According to Urie Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory (1979), the macrosystem can be seen as the overarching ideology of culture, influencing the structures beneath it, such as mass media or workplaces (exosystem), school and family (mesosystem) and the direct individual (microsystem). Often, culture is equated with communication, since the meaning a person attaches to a certain situation derives from the previous experiences and expectations based on the ‘social system’ one finds oneself in (Gudykunst and Ting-Toomey, 1988). A social system refers to the behavior of various individuals embedded in a culturally-structured population, including their ways of social interaction and systems of social relationships (Smith and Bond, 1998). The first extensive study
9 which investigated differences across national cultures was conducted by Geert Hofstede in the 1980’s. Hofstede argues that each culture has several dimensions, namely uncertainty avoidance (UA), collectivism (COLL) versus individualism (INDIV), power distance (PD), masculinity (MAS) versus femininity (FEM), and long-term orientation (LTO) versus short-term orientation (STO). Because of the importance of culture in attitude formation, it is expected that these dimensions influence the consumer’s expectations and preferences toward collaborative consumption through the platform Withlocals. Below, the various dimensions will be explained in more detail.
Uncertainty Avoidance/Trust
Uncertainty avoidance refers to the way one deals with life’s uncertainties. In high uncertainty avoidance cultures, people tend to be more easily stressed by ambiguity and less tolerant toward unusual behavior (Hofstede as cited in de Mooij, 2004). Also, there is more emotional resistance to changing situations and risks are not easily taken (Ferraro, 2010). On the other hand, in low uncertainty avoidance cultures people are more willing to take each day as it comes, are more risk taking and differences are more easily tolerated (Ferraro, 2010). Trust is an important factor in risky and uncertain situations, and should be taken into account when evaluating the requirements that people have when entering in a relationship. Trust can be defined as ‘an expectancy of positive or non-negative outcomes that one can receive based on the expectation of another party in an interaction characterized by uncertainty’ (Bhattacharya, Devinney and Pillutla, 1998, p.462). In a situation in which an individual trusts another person, the notion of vulnerability is at play (Mayer, Davis and Schoorman, 1995). After all, one is willing to take a risk based on the expectation that the other will execute his or her task competently. Especially in an online environment such as Withlocals, trust with regard to the aspect of personal relationship may be challenging. Research into online dating has shown that unlike other computer mediated communication contexts in which one can easily adopt a pseudonym, such as in online role playing games or chat forums, the expectation of future face-to-face contact inherent in online dating creates a motivation to reduce uncertainty about the identity of possible relational partners (Gibbs, Ellison and Lai, 2011). Of course, Withlocals is not an online dating site, nonetheless the aspect of personal relationship shows parallels to the context of online dating. Both at Withlocals and in the online dating environment, a personal connection and an anticipation of future face-to-face interaction is present. According to the warranting principle, people aim to form a consistent correlation between the person online, and the actual person in the offline physical world (Walther et al. in Gibbs et al, 2011). One of the most used strategies to do this is to refer to
10 third party messages. Ellison, Heino and Gibbs (2006) argue that people in the online dating environment use several active and passive strategies to verify the identity of the other. For instance, they check links to the person’s homepage, or pay attention to the timing of sent email messages (Ellison et al., 2006). In addition, research into trust on the website Couchsurfing found that members who had offline face-to-face contact with each other experienced a stronger feeling of community than members who had only communicated via the online platform (Rosen, Lafontaine, Hendrickson, 2011). Especially offline social gatherings organized for Couchsurfing members were found to have a large impact on member’s feeling of belonging. In the case of Withlocals, it could be that people who are more easily stressed by ambiguous situations (high in uncertainty avoidance) desire more information and verification about the host on the website before deciding on booking an ‘experience’, thus entering in a personal relationship with the host. For instance, they might pay more attention to references about the host given by fellow tourists and would like to see links to other profile pages of the host, such as Facebook, Twitter or a personal website. Also, people from high uncertainty avoidance cultures might want to know what to expect and prefer a host who is very explicit in the experience description, in order to create a feeling of security. On the other hand, people low in uncertainty avoidance might not have this desire since risks are more easily taken.
Collectivism versus Individualism
In addition to uncertainty avoidance, the dimension of collectivism versus individualism is important to consider when evaluating the influence of a person’s cultural background on attitude. Firstly, individualistic cultures place a high value on self-realization, personal benefits and individual goals. People coming from an individualistic culture tend to put their own wishes in front of the group(s) they belong to, and are used to a low-context communication style. As is argued by Hall (1976), cultures with a low-context communication style derive most of the message’s meaning from the spoken words, rather than the setting. On the other hand, collectivistic cultures place more importance on cohesion within the social group, and take the interest of the in-group into account when making decisions. These cultures are accustomed to a high-context communication style, in which the major part of the communicated message is interpreted through the setting and internalized values of the person. Moreover, as stated by Triandis (1986), collectivists are more focused on in-groups, whereas individualists focus on unique self-beliefs. Also, collectivistic and individualistic cultures can be categorized as differing in time orientation. Cultures that tend to be more individualistic treat time as something that must be used efficiently and greatly value
11 schedules, deadlines and timetables (Ferraro, 2010). On the other hand, cultures stemming from collectivism are more likely to have a loose reckoning of time, and place more value on social relationships that are taking place in the present (Ferraro, 2010). Moreover, cultures can also be compared as being monochromic (M-time) or polychromic (P-time). M-time cultures tend to see time as ‘as straight, dotted line with regular spacing’ and finish tasks one at a time (Ferraro, 2010, p.125). On the other hand, P-time cultures conduct several tasks at the same time and schedules are not taken very seriously. Additionally, P-time societies place more importance on long-term social relationships whereas M-time societies are characterized as having many short-term relationships (Ferraro, 2010). With regard to Withlocals, it could possibly be the case that collectivists are more focused on the social aspect in the personal relationship with the host, whereas individualists place more importance on the details and planning of the experience. For instance, a person coming from a collectivistic culture could possibly be more interested in maintaining a relationship with the host after the experience, whereas someone from an individualistic culture is more focused on the immediate benefit from the experience.
Power Distance
Power distance stands for the degree to which the less powerful members of a society accept and expect that power is distributed unequally (Hofstede as cited in de Mooij, 2004). In countries with high power distance, there exists more hierarchy between people. Superiors believe they can exert their power over subordinates, while in low power distance countries, it is argued that power should only be used when it is legitimate. In the case of Withlocals, it could be that people coming from high power distance cultures would prefer a host who has the same perceived status as them. For instance, if a tourist coming from a high power distance has an occupation as a doctor, he or she might prefer a host coming from the same socio-economic circle, instead of a host working as for instance a fruit seller. On the other hand, tourists coming from a low power distance culture might not find this to be very important, since equal distribution of power is more prominent.
12 Masculinity versus Femininity
Masculinity versus femininity refers to the degree of competitive orientation within a society. In masculine societies, competition is one of the driving forces of success, while in feminine societies; cooperation and consensus are leading factors. This dimension is often called ‘tough’ versus ‘tender’ as well (Ferraro, 2010, p.116). People in a tough society typify success in tangible rewards such as highly-regarded jobs, material wealth and status, whereas people in a tender society define success as personal growth, quality time spent with family and friends, and good working relationships (Ferraro, 2010). Values such as consensus and solidarity are more important. In line with power distance, it can be that tourists coming from a more masculine culture are more eager to book tours and activities with a host who has a high status and are more focused on the competitive gain one could get out of booking an experience. On the contrary, tourists coming from more feminine societies might not be that interested in this, and could place more importance on having fun and creating new memories from a personal perspective.
Long Term Orientation versus Short Term Orientation
Long-term orientation refers to a society which believes that truth depends heavily on situation, context and time, and which can easily adapt traditions to changed conditions (Hofstede as cited in de Mooij, 2004). People coming from a long-term oriented society tend to place more value on future relationships. For instance, in a buyer-seller situation the goal is to open a long-term relationship, in which the buyer will receive what he/she aims for, however should also look after the interests of the seller (Ferraro, 2010). On the other hand, short-term oriented societies are more normative in their thinking and focus on achieving fast results. In a business situation, the aim is to close a deal and to get as much advantage out of it as possible (Ferraro, 2010). A study by Pavlou and Chai (2002) investigated behavioral intentions to transact online in two different cultures, namely the United States and China. They found that consumers coming from a more long- term and collectivistic culture such as China, include e-commerce sellers into their in-group and aim to maintain a harmonious bond with them (Pavlou and Chai, 2002). On the other hand, consumers coming from an individualistic culture such as the United States do not have this desire due to the importance of personal goals and short-term relationship orientation. In the case of Withlocals, it could be that consumers who are coming from a short-term oriented culture might be more attracted to the immediate experience and not so much in opening
13 up a future relationship. On the contrary, long-term oriented societies might be more interested in creating a bond with the host, and in perhaps maintaining contact after the experience.
Attitude
Having discussed the aspects of culture that could influence an individual’s attitude concerning the aspect of personal relationship, it is important to shed more light on the notion of attitude, and how attitude can lead toward purchasing behavior. In this study, attitude is evaluated in terms of expectations and preferences with regard to the website Withlocals and the local host. An attitude can be defined as a ‘mental posture’ and refers to the evaluation an individual has about him or herself, objects, issues, advertisements and other people (de Mooij, 2004; Renkema, 2004, p.208). There are three dimensions of attitudes, namely the ‘cognitive’, the ‘affective’ and the ‘conative’ (Renkema, 2004, p.208). A cognitive attitude refers to the thoughts a person has, while an affective attitude stands for the individual’s feelings and emotions toward a certain matter. Furthermore, the conative dimension refers to the behavioral aspect of planned action, and focuses on the deliberate, pro-active and goal-oriented connection of feeling and knowledge (Renkema, 2004; Huitt and Cain, 2005). In other words, it refers to a sense of self-direction in which one deliberately thinks of questions such as ‘what am I going to do and what actions am I going to take?’ (Huitt and Cain, 2005, p.1). In addition, a distinction can be made between a global and differentiated attitude. The first stands for a general belief toward a certain product, whereas the second refers to beliefs about apparent characteristics of a product. It has been argued that attitudes are crucial determinants of behavior (O’ Keefe, 2002). Thus, in order to investigate the effectiveness of an advertisement or product, it is necessary to find out more about the attitude of the consumers, since this is an indicator of purchase intention (de Mooij, 2004). In this study, the focus will be on the cognitive dimension of attitude, since people’s expectations and preferences are being investigated. A well-known model that elaborates upon the relationship between attitude and behavior was formed by Fishbein (1980) and is called the theory of reasoned action (TRA). This theory posits that an individual’s behavioral intention is determined by a social aspect and a personal aspect (de Mooij, 2004). The personal dimension stands for an individual’s judgment of behavior, while the social dimension refers to norms and expectations from one’s in-group. The personal component has been found to be more important in individualistic cultures, whereas the social component is more prominent in collectivistic cultures (de Mooij, 2004). Reasoning along the lines of the TRA, its derivative theory of planned behavior (TPB) was developed by Icek Ajzen (1991). This theory
14 maintains that there are three determinants of intention, and subsequently behavior. Apart from a person’s attitude, the factors subjective norm and perceived behavior also play an important role in influencing an individual’s intention to engage in a certain behavior. Subjective norm refers to the influence of one’s reference group and hence, the belief about what others think that is appropriate. Furthermore, perceived behavior stands for the extent to which an individual thinks that he or she can actually engage in a particular behavior (Renkema, 2004). It could well be that collectivistic cultures are more influences by the subjective norm of their in-group when deciding on engaging in an ‘experience’ through the platform Withlocals. Moreover, perceived behavior could play a role in high versus low uncertainty avoidance cultures. People who are more easily stressed out by ambiguity might not see themselves capable enough to actually enter this personal relationship, as compared to individuals who are more prone in taking risks.
Attitude toward the website Withlocals
As stated earlier, there are two directions of attitude which will be investigated in this study. One of these is the attitude toward the website Withlocals. When talking about computer mediated communication, there are various kinds of theories which deal with the way people receive and interact with online media. For instance, social presence theory argues that media can be classified according to their bandwidth and social presence. Bandwidth can be defined as the number of communication cue systems a technology can convey, whereas salience refers to the social presence and warmth in an online medium (Walther and Parks, 2002). For instance, a Skype call is high in cues, since it produces visual, audio and the possibility of immediate feedback. On the other hand, plain written text without any possibility for feedback is low in cues and does not create a high feeling of salience. In line with this is media richness theory, which argues that media higher in cues are better suited for ambiguous tasks than media lower in cues. The more uncertain and personal a task is, the richer the media that suits it (Walther and Parks, 2002). Social information processing theory argues that despite the lack of cues in some media, people still have the drive to get to know their interlocutor. This theory posits that people in online communication are just as motivated to reduce uncertainty and form impressions as they are in face-to-face communication (Walther and Parks, 2002). However, differences exist across cultures as in how for instance the amount of cues, salience and information is received. Previous studies have shown that in website designs, differences are present based on the extent of high or low context communication within a culture.
15 For instance, Ju-Pak (1999) when investigating commercial websites in the United States, United Kingdom and South Korea, found that rational, fact-based appeals were more prominent in the more individualistic cultures of the United Kingdom and United States, whereas emotional and symbolic appeals are dominant in a collectivistic culture such as South Korea (as cited in Hermeking, 2006). These differences can be explained by looking at the characteristics of a high- context culture (South Korea) and a low context culture (United States and United Kingdom). In the graph below, a relation can be seen between content, layout and the culturally preferred communication style for advertising and web site design across high and low context cultures.
Source: Hermeking (2006), Culture and Internet Consumption: Contributions from Cross-Cultural Marketing and Advertising Research, p. 205
As is visible, high-context communication style cultures are more prone to emotional/entertaining content and visuals, creating a higher amount of cues, whereas informative and rational content in the form of written text is more appealing to low-context cultures. This also coincides with preferences for website design in short term orientated cultures, which are more accustomed to content focused on truth, and in which rules and immediate results are seen as accurate sources of information (Marcus and Gould, 2001). Results by Würtz (2006) and Wang, Bristol, Mowen and Chakraborty (2000) are in line with this. Würtz investigated the effect of culture in different McDonald’s website designs, and found that collectivistic cultures more often portray people who are engaging in sports or spending time with family and friends, since these are important values in high context website design (Würtz, 2006). On the other hand, individualistic cultures tended to focus more on relaxation and personal
16 time, which are important values in low context website design (Würtz, 2006). This was also argued in an earlier study by Wang et al (2000), who found that connected advertisement styles were more positively received by Chinese consumers, whereas independent advertisement styles were more favorably received by U.S. consumers. Furthermore, differences can also be found when comparing masculine versus feminine countries. Zahedi, Van Pelt and Srite (2006) found more instances of emotional appeal on feminine websites than on masculine ones, indicating that social presence and emotion are more prominent characteristics in feminine societies than in masculine ones. Also, values such as charity, mutual cooperation and concern for quality of life are more prominent in websites in feminine cultures (Cyr and Head, 2013; Marcus and Gould, 2001). On the other hand, websites coming from a more masculine society, incorporate design elements which focus on performance, competition, leadership, self-success and factual information. In addition, it has been shown that websites coming from a culture high in uncertainty avoidance, implement design choices such as navigation schemes to prevent users from becoming lost, a limited amount of choices to create simplicity, and attempts to show the outcome of an action, in order for consumers to know what to expect. On the other hand, websites created in a low uncertainty avoidance culture, offer a great amount of content and choices, less control over navigation, and a mindset in which risks are accepted and to some extent even encouraged (Marcus and Gould, 2001). With regard to the website Withlocals, it could for instance be the case that consumers high in uncertainty avoidance would like to have a lot of cues on the website, such as chat systems between customers and hosts, creating the possibility for immediate feedback and anticipation on what will happen after one books an experience with a host. Also, since high uncertainty avoidance cultures are more easily stressed out by ambiguity, they might find it more difficult to accept a payment system through the internet before having met the host in person. On the other hand, travelers coming from a low uncertainty avoidance culture might have less problems with this, since they come from a culture in which risks are more easily taken. Moreover, consumers coming from a collectivistic culture might be more attracted to host profiles with lots of pictures on it and personal appeal, whereas people coming from an individualistic culture could prefer rational and informative content, such as factual information about the tour.
Attitude toward the local host
In addition to the attitude toward the website Withlocals, differences and preferences could also exist with regard to the kind of host one enters in a personal relationship with. As stated
17 earlier, people coming from a collectivistic culture place more importance on the aspect of social relationship. Hence, it could be that collectivists prefer a host who introduces the travelers to one’s family, and gives a lot of extra information by talking about one’s country, culture and views. On the other hand, travelers from an individualistic culture might prefer a host who sticks to the planning as stated on the website and does not deviate from the time schedule. Also, people from a collectivistic culture might be more influenced by the concerns of their social in-group due to the importance of social ties. For instance, if parents would express their concerns about meeting with someone with whom one has not yet established a personal relationship with nor seen, this might influence collectivists to a greater extent than individualists. Moreover, they might be more interested in maintaining contact with the host after the experience, and in referring this particular host to one’s social circle. In addition to this, people coming from a country high in power distance might prefer a host with the same socio-economic status as them, resulting from the importance of hierarchy. This might not be found in countries low in power distance, since the notion of equality is more at play.
Conceptual Model
Based on the above mentioned explanations about the influence of culture on attitude toward the website Withlocals and the local host, a conceptual model has been formed which can be seen below.
As is visible, the model describes the various dimensions of culture as stated by Hofstede, namely uncertainty avoidance and trust; collectivism versus individualism; power distance; masculinity
18 versus femininity and long term orientation versus short term orientation. As said before, attitude can be defined as a ‘mental posture’ and is formed within the culturally-structured system one finds oneself in. Within this system, an individual acquires a major part of one’s identity through group membership. Furthermore, ways of interaction are learned through the reference group and because of this, expectations and preferences differ across people coming from different cultural backgrounds. Hence, the various cultural dimensions can influence the attitudes of the Dutch and Turkish consumers in two directions. On the one hand, the attitude toward the website Withlocals and what is important or desired in this respect, and on the other hand, the attitude toward the local host with whom the consumer will book the experience. This study investigates the attitudes of both Dutch and Turkish consumers. Therefore, in the sections below a more detailed overview is given of the Dutch and Turkish culture. However, it should be kept in mind that in any country, sub-cultures are also highly important. The Turkish respondents are coming from Istanbul, a metropolis with almost 14 million inhabitants (TUIK, 2012). Therefore, the culture of a busy and crowded city such as Istanbul could have influenced the Turkish respondents in this study. On the other hand, the Dutch respondents are coming from Noord-Brabant, a province consisting of various small towns, and of which the busiest city has a population of 217.225 inhabitants (CBS, 2013). As a result, the sub-cultures of small Dutch municipalities could have also influenced the Dutch respondents. In this study, it can be interesting to see if national cultures still pertain and if they are helpful in explaining the attitudes of the Dutch and Turkish respondents.
The Dutch Culture
As can be seen in the graph below, the Dutch culture is characterized as being highly individualistic. People are expected to take care of themselves, and social ties are not very strong. This is visible by for instance the fact that Dutch students are often moving out of their parent’s home in order to be independent when they are going to university, even if the school is located nearby the parental home. Furthermore, in the business sphere, hiring and promotions are often based on personal achievements and virtue (Hofstede, 2013). Because of this, it could be that Dutch consumers are mostly interested in the experience and not so much in the personal relationship with the host. Also, Dutch consumers might not be that influenced by concerns of their family with regard to booking an experience with someone unfamiliar. In addition, the Dutch are a relatively prone to avoid uncertain situations. This is manifested
19 by the fact that they prefer to be precise and punctual, especially with regard to appointments (Hofstede, 2013). As a result, it could be that Dutch travelers would like to see a complete schedule before booking and value reviews of previous customers in order to know what to expect. Furthermore, Dutch society is characterized as having low power distance, in which equality is valued. As a result, it may be that Dutch travelers do not place importance on whether or not the host has the same socio-economic status as them. Also, The Netherlands is a feminine society and places importance on consensus and quality time. Therefore, it could be that Dutch travelers are mostly focused on having fun during the tour, activity or home dinner, and in creating new personal memories. Also, The Netherlands is a low-context culture. As a result, it may be that the Dutch consumers are more interested in a website with rational information and practical information. Finally, the Dutch can be typified as a short term oriented culture, in which results are to be quickly achieved. Hence, it could be that Dutch travelers are more interested in the immediate experience and not as much in maintaining a relationship with the host afterwards.
Source: The Hofstede Center (2013). What about The Netherlands. Graph created at geert-hofstede.com
20 The Turkish Culture
The Turkish culture differs from the Dutch culture on several dimensions. As can be seen in the graph below, Turkey is a characterized as a collectivistic society. This means that both the in-group and maintaining harmony are very important. People take care of each other and it takes time in order to establish a relationship of trust (Hofstede, 2013). Because of this, it could possibly be that Turkish consumers are more affected by the opinion of their family concerning booking an experience on the platform Withlocals with someone unknown. Moreover, it may be that Turkish consumers prefer a host who also places importance on the social aspect of the personal relationship. This could manifest itself in a host who is talkative, gives a lot of information, and for instance introduces the tourist to one’s family. In addition, Turkey scores higher on the dimension of uncertainty avoidance than The Netherlands. This means that rules and laws are very prominent in Turkey, and rituals and expressions are often used in order to reduce concerns (Hofstede, 2013). Therefore, it could be that travelers from Turkey desire more information and verification about the host before booking an experience. For instance, they might appreciate a chat system in which they can directly talk to the host in order to ask for more information or the possibility to read customer reviews about the host and the experience. Furthermore, since people high in uncertainty avoidance are more reluctant to take risks, Turkish consumers might be cautious of an online payment system and booking an experience with someone unfamiliar in general. Moreover, as can be seen below, Turkey scores high on the dimension of power distance, which means that the notion of hierarchy is important in Turkish culture. The prominence of status is visible in various areas of Turkish life. For instance, Turkish television channels often broadcast celebrity programs and talk shows. Also, in the traditional Turkish family unit, the father is considered the head of the family, and the attitudes toward managers in a business situation are expected to be formal. As a result of this high score on the dimension of power distance, it could possibly be that Turkish travelers prefer a host who has the same socio-economic status as them. In addition, Turkey can be seen as a relatively feminine society, although not as much as The Netherlands. This means that values such as compromise and sympathy are important, along with free time spend in the midst of one’s family. Hence, it could be that simply having a good time and creating personal memories is important for Turkish travelers. Finally, Turkey is a high-context culture, in which the social context of situations is valued. With regard to website design, it could well be that Turkish consumers are more interested in an
21 entertaining website with lots of pictures, since these are aspects present in high context website design. As is visible in the graph below, there are no results on the dimension of long-term orientation for Turkey.
Source: The Hofstede Center (2013). What about Turkey. Graph created at geert-hofstede.com
Research Questions
As stated before, the main research question of this study is: Does cultural background influence the attitudes of Turkish and Dutch young adults toward collaborative consumption on the platform Withlocals? In order to answer the main research question, three sub-questions have been formed based on the discussed literature:
1. What kind of information and design features would Dutch and Turkish young adults like to see on the website Withlocals?
2. How do Dutch and Turkish young adults describe their preferences and expectations concerning the local host in Southeast Asia?
3. How does the opinion of one’s family with regard to booking an experience influence Dutch and Turkish young adults?
22 Chapter 2
Method and Design
In this study, the aim is to discover the attitudes of Dutch and Turkish consumers toward collaborative consumption on the platform Withlocals. As stated before, the cultural dimensions of ‘uncertainty avoidance/trust’, ‘collectivism versus individualism’, ‘power distance’, ‘masculinity versus femininity’ and ‘long term orientation versus short term orientation’ are presumed to have an effect on “the consumer’s attitude toward the website Withlocals” and “the consumer’s attitude toward the local host” .
Research Design
In order to explore the expectations and preferences in more detail, the qualitative method of in-depth interviewing was chosen. A total of 20 interviewees took part in this study, namely 10 Dutch respondents and 10 Turkish respondents. The interviews were semi-structured, meaning that the interview was partly interviewer-led, partly informant-led (Arksey and Knight, 1999). For the interviews, an interview guideline was created consisting of approximately 26 questions. The interview guideline can be seen as the framework based on the key issues that a research is addressing (Arksey and Knight, 1999). In addition to the questions, several probes were formed. Probes are referring to examples and questions to further prompt an informant’s response in order to seek clarification and elaboration upon a particular answer (Arksey and Knight, 1999). The interview guideline used for this study can be found in Appendix A. In addition to the interviews, a questionnaire consisting of 12 questions on a 7 point scale of importance (1 not important at all, 7 very important) was formed. The questions were created according to the dimensions of uncertainty avoidance, collectivism versus individualism and power distance. This questionnaire can be found in Appendix B. All questions in the interview guideline were created in order to elicit answers from the respondents. It should be noted that some of the answers given by the respondents were explicitly asked for through direct questions in the interview guideline such as ‘How do you feel about online payment?’. On the other hand, further answers were self-declared as a response to a more general question such as ‘How would the website be interesting to you?’. A more detailed explanation about this will follow in the section ‘Results’. All answers of the respondents can be classified under the dimensions of national cultures as stated in the conceptual model. These dimensions will be used as
23 main coding categories. However, it is not enough to code the main categories, one must also identify subcategories which are either identified in the same excerpt or other passages in the interview (Strauss, 1987). Hence, in this study, several sub-categories were also identified. A further explanation of this will follow in the section ‘Data Analysis’. In order to unravel preferences of website design and information, two profile pages of a fake host named Nguyen Tran were created by the researcher. One page was formed along the lines of high-context communication and collectivism, consisting of various entertaining, personal pictures and information about the host’s family (version A). The other page was created according to low-context communication and individualism, consisting of less pictures, more text and an informative schedule of the tour (version B). The pages can be found in Appendix C. A further analysis of these pages can be found in the section ‘Data Analysis’.
Informants
In this study, 10 young adults living in the province of Noord-Brabant (The Netherlands) and 10 young adults living in the city of Istanbul (Turkey) were interviewed. Criteria are that the respondents are good in English and between the ages of 20-30 years old. The reason why the respondents have to be good in English is because all communication at the platform is conducted in the English language. English is considered a ‘lingua franca’, and defined as the common language of choice among speakers who come from different linguistic backgrounds (Jenkins, 2009). Because of this, people who are good in English are most likely also able to function in an international environment such as Withlocals. In addition, respondents from the age group of 20-30 years old are most likely to be familiar with online communities, and could possibly be interested in participating on the platform Withlocals. The following table gives an overview of the informants: Respondent Name Gender Age City Country Education/Employment Status 1 D.M. Female 22 Tilburg NL Geography Teacher 2 D.P. Female 23 Zundert NL Criminal Justice Intern 3 D.S. Female 23 Eindhoven NL Student International Relations 4 E.v.B. Female 23 Eindhoven NL Senior Assistant Accountant 5 L.J. Female 24 Helmond NL Student Psychology 6 D.R. Male 22 Tilburg NL Student Finance
24 7 J.H. Male 23 Tilburg NL Graduate Media Culture 8 M.L. Male 21 Tilburg NL Student Liberal Arts and Sciences 9 M.v.S. Male 26 Eindhoven NL Student Law 10 R.S. Male 25 Eindhoven NL Software Engineer 11 A.E. Female 24 Istanbul TR Energy Analyst 12 A.K. Female 21 Istanbul TR Student Civil Engineering 13 C.Ö. Female 23 Istanbul TR Student Sociology and Psychology 14 H.E. Female 25 Istanbul TR Human Resources Intern 15 S.O. Female 27 Istanbul TR Credit Analyst 16 D.G. Male 26 Istanbul TR Customer Relations Assistant 17 M.A. Male 26 Istanbul TR Industrial Engineer 18 M.E. Male 29 Istanbul TR Marketing Assistant Manager 19 O.Ka. Male 26 Istanbul TR Graphic Designer, Student Communication 20 O.Ko. Male 29 Istanbul TR Treasury Manager
Procedure
Both Dutch and Turkish young adults were contacted via Facebook and asked if they are willing to participate in this study. 4 Turkish respondents were contacted via the snowball method, meaning that prior participants brought the researcher into contact with people from within their peer group who were willing to participate in this study. An interview date was set, and the respondents were met in locations such as Tilburg University, restaurants, cafés and the interviewer or interviewee’s home. A total of 4 pre-interviews with 2 Dutch respondents and 2 Turkish respondents were conducted, which gave the researcher insight in which aspects could be improved. Especially, it was decided that in addition to the interviews, the before mentioned questionnaire should be incorporated into the study as an indication to validate the groups of respondents and to see if a difference occurs when asking questions relating to the big dimensions of uncertainty avoidance, collectivism versus individualism and power distance. The 4 pre- interviews were conducted in the second week of November 2013. Subsequently, the interviews with the remaining 8 Dutch respondents were conducted in the final week of November 2013 and
25 the third week of December 2013. In order to conduct all interviews in a face-to-face manner, the interviewer decided to go to Istanbul for the period of the 4th of December until the 14th of December 2013. Hence, the interviews with the remaining 8 Turkish respondents took place in this time period. The interviews were conducted face-to-face, and varied from 30 to 80 minutes. Furthermore, all interviews took place in the English language. At the start of each interview, a brief explanation was given what the research is about. For example, the topic of collaborative consumption was explained and a hand-out with information about the platform Withlocals was given to the interviewees. The hand-out ‘What is Withlocals?’ can be found in Appendix D. The researcher made sure that the concept of Withlocals was completely understood before commencing with the questions. The respondent was told that he/she is free to stop with the interview at any given time, and that he/she does not have to answer a question if he/she does not desire to do so. Also, the interviewee was asked for consent to audiotape the interview. Before starting with the main questions, the researcher posed several questions to make the interviewee feel comfortable, such as ‘What places have you travelled to?’ and ‘Have you ever participated yourself in something like collaborative consumption?’. Throughout the interview, the template was followed and it was ensured that all the questions were answered by each respondent. However, at times a brief deviation from the template took place, in order to better understand an answer of an interviewee and to leave room for flexibility during the interview. At the end of each interview, the respondent was asked to fill in the questionnaire and thanked for his/her time.
Data Analysis
After each interview was finished, the researcher transcribed the respondent’s answers. Then, the transcripts were coded by placing the interviewees’ responses within the categories they belonged to. In this study, the previously mentioned dimensions of ‘uncertainty avoidance/trust’, ‘collectivism versus individualism’, ‘power distance’, masculinity versus femininity’ and ‘long term orientation versus short term orientation’ function as main categories. Furthermore, four of the main categories have sub-categories. Several sub-categories include classifications. For instance, the sub-category ‘inclusion in social circle’ includes classifications such as ‘invite the host to home country of tourist’, ‘refer host to friends of tourist’ and ‘add host on Facebook’. The table below shows the sub-categories that pertain to each main category. Also, it shows the overall percentage of Dutch and Turkish respondents who gave answers relating to the
26 particular sub-categories. The tables showing the various classifications of sub-categories can be found in Appendix E.
Main Categories Sub-Categories Overall Overall respondents respondents NL TR
Uncertainty Verification of the host 10 10 Avoidance/Trust Verification of the website Withlocals 6 4 Anticipation of the experience 10 10 Navigation on the website 5 7 Anxiety about online payment 4 5
Collectivism versus Inclusion in social circle 7 9 Individualism Punctuality 10 10 Family influence 10 10 Personal connection 10 10
Power Distance Hierarchy 0 3
Masculinity versus Intrinsic motives 7 5 Femininity Consensus between the tourist and the 10 8 host Competitive gain 3 5
Long Term Orientation Reciprocal intentions 3 7 versus Short Term Orientation
An excel sheet was created in which the researcher coded all the interviewees’ responses under the appropriate categories and sub-categories. In addition, the questions of the 7 scale questionnaire were tested on significance.
27 Chapter 3
Results
Before going into the results, the 7 scale questionnaire will be discussed. This questionnaire was created as an indication to validate the groups of respondents and to see if a difference occurs when asking questions relating to the big dimensions of uncertainty avoidance, collectivism versus individualism and power distance. The results show that there is a significant difference between the Dutch and Turkish respondents for the following questions:
Q.6: How important is it to you that the host sticks to the schedule during the experience?
Q.12: How important is it to you to maintain a relationship with the host after the experience?
For Q.6, which relates to the dimension of uncertainty avoidance, it can be stated that on average, the Turkish participants attach more importance to a host who sticks to the schedule during the experience (M = 5.9) as opposed to the Dutch participants (M = 4.5). A significant difference was found between the two groups, D(20) = (p = 0.013). Also, for Q.12, which relates to the dimension of collectivism versus individualism, it can be stated that on average the Turkish respondents place more value on the continuance of a relationship with the host after the experience (M = 5.4) as compared to the Dutch respondents (M = 3.6). The difference between the two groups was found to be significant, D(20) = (p = 0.008). Furthermore, the following two questions proved to be significant after the application of a one-tailed t-test:
Q.7: How important is it to you that the host gives you information about his/her cultural customs and norms?
Q. 9: How important is it to you that the host has a well-regarded social status?
For Q.7, which relates to the dimension of collectivism versus individualism, it can be stated that on average, the Turkish participants give more value to information about cultural customs and norms (M = 6.1) than the Dutch participants (M = 5.1). Initially, a significant difference was not found between the two groups, D(20) = (p = 0.0993). However, by the application of a one-tailed t-test the difference did turn out to be significant (0.0993/2 = 0.05). Also, for Q.9, which relates to the
28 dimension of power distance, it can be stated that on average the Turkish participants give more importance to a well-regarded social status of the host (M = 4.2) as opposed to the Dutch participants (M = 2.7). At first, the difference between the two groups was not found to be significant, D(20) = (p = 0.0587). However, after the application of a one-tailed t-test, the difference proved to be significant (0.0587/2 = 0.05). It should be kept in mind that looking at the big dimensions does not always give a detailed view. Therefore, in order to understand the in-depth expectations and preferences, it is of high interest to look at the analysis of the transcripts. Below, the various categories, sub-categories and classifications will be discussed, accompanied by quotations of the respondents.
Uncertainty Avoidance
As stated before, UA stands for the way one deals with life’s uncertainties. In high uncertainty avoidance cultures, people tend to be more easily stressed by ambiguity and less tolerant toward unusual behavior (Hofstede as cited in de Mooij, 2004). The Netherlands scores 53 on the dimension of UA and Turkey scores 85 (Hofstede, 2013). This means that both countries are prone to avoid uncertain situations. In this study, the dimension of UA is divided into several subcategories, namely ‘verification of the host’, ‘verification of the website Withlocals’, ‘anticipation of the experience’, ‘navigation on the website’ and ‘anxiety about online payment’. The most important findings of each of these sub-categories will be presented below.
Verification of the host
This sub-category includes wishes stated by the interviewees in order to establish the trustworthiness of the host. During the interview, the question ‘How do you feel about meeting with someone you have not yet seen in person?’ was asked to the respondents. 2 out of 10 Dutch respondents and 5 out of 10 Turkish respondents stated that they feel uncertain about meeting with someone they have never met before. Furthermore, the questions ‘How would the website be interesting to you?’, ‘What kind of information would you like to see on the website?’, ‘What do you think about pictures?’ and ‘What would these pictures have to show?’ initiated a conversation between the researcher and the respondent, in which self-declared answers were given by the respondents. Overall, 10 Dutch respondents and 10 Turkish respondents gave answers relating to establishing the trustworthiness of the host. The most important features on the website that were named as creating a feeling of trust toward the host include pictures of the host (8 Dutch respondents and 9 Turkish respondents), a general description of the host such as age or
29 occupation (7 Dutch respondents and 4 Turkish respondents) and reviews/ratings of the host (4 Dutch respondents and 7 Turkish respondents). For instance:
“I just really want to be sure that I will be comfortable there in a family. There could be like these customer satisfactory guarantees. It would be perfect for me if it is a person from Istanbul, because of the same culture, background, if they are comfortable to go to these places, visiting a foreign family, it would be a good guarantee for me.” – Respondent 20 (TR)
Also, the aspect of personal relationship became exceptionally clear when one Dutch respondent made the link to online dating while naming the importance of a picture of the host:
“If you are going to date someone on the internet, you need to see a picture, otherwise it is not happening (…) you want to know the person, you want to know what is happening. So what you want to see when you go on such a site, a picture of the person that you are meeting with.” - Respondent 7 (NL)
In addition, an interesting remark was made by 4 Dutch respondents and 1 Turkish respondent. They stated that they would like to see the criteria of host selection as determined by Withlocals. For instance:
“I would feel comfortable if a confirmation system is in place. The company should do something to verify the identity of the host, that it is not a scam.” – Respondent 10 (NL)
Also, 1 Dutch respondent and 3 Turkish respondents indicated that they would like to have the possibility to contact the host via email, Skype, chat or telephone, before they decide to book an experience. Moreover, 1 Dutch respondent and 2 Turkish respondents stated that they would like to see a video of the host. Lastly, 1 Dutch respondent indicated that she would like to know the motivation of the host to join Withlocals.
Verification of the website Withlocals
This sub-category includes wishes stated by the respondents to have a confirmation that the website is real and functions accurately. Again, self-declared answers given by the respondents were analyzed based on the questions ‘How would the website be interesting to you?’ and ‘What kind of information would you like to see on the website?’. Overall, 6 Dutch respondents and 4 Turkish respondents gave self-declared answers relating to the verification of the website Withlocals. The most important characteristic that was named by the respondents is a general
30 explanation of how the organization works (4 Dutch respondents and 3 Turkish respondents). Moreover, 3 Dutch respondents would like to see reviews about the website Withlocals. Also, new updates about Withlocals on the website, the possibility to contact the website, and a blog written by the Withlocals team or professional travelers were once named by Turkish and Dutch respondents. For instance, one Dutch respondent stated the following:
“I would want to see that the website, the owners, that they are open, that they are showing, living their vision of an open world where you can trust people and where you have nice experiences. I would expect to see a bit more personal connection with the people involved, I would expect to see a blog from the CEO (…) blogs and reviews from people who go around, you know, professional travelers who go with these experiences that are provided by the host.” – Respondent 10 (NL)
Anticipation of the experience
This sub-category includes aspirations stated by the respondents in order to foresee what the experience will actually be like. During the interview, the questions ‘How would the website be interesting to you?’, ‘What kind of information would you like to see on the website?’, ‘What do you think about pictures?’ and ‘What would these pictures have to show?’ instigated self-declared answers given by the respondents. Overall, 10 Dutch respondents and 10 Turkish respondents gave self-declared answers relating to this sub-category. The most important features on the website that were named as creating a feeling of trust toward the experience include pictures (10 Dutch respondents and 10 Turkish respondents), general information about the experience such as what to bring and what time it starts (7 Dutch respondents and 8 Turkish respondents), information about the place of accommodation (4 Dutch respondents and 5 Turkish respondents), financial information about the experience (3 Dutch respondents and 5 Turkish respondents) and reviews/ratings (2 Dutch respondents and 2 Turkish respondents). Also, 1 Dutch respondent and 3 Turkish respondents would like to see a map/location of the experience. Furthermore, 2 Turkish respondents would like to read something about the country and the culture. Also, 1 Turkish respondent would like to know the possible dangers of the experience. Lastly, an interesting remark was made by 2 Turkish respondents, namely to have the possibility to for instance see a video or hear music in order to foresee what the experience will be like. For instance:
“Music. Cultural music (…) during the website surfing, you can completely feel yourself in it with the music (…) for example I am clicking on the activities, and clicking safari, maybe I can hear an engine
31 sound or some kind of for example elephant activity, maybe I can have a chance to hear the elephant or water sounds.” – Respondent 11 (TR)
Navigation on the website
This sub-category refers to statements made by the respondents which pertain to the navigation on the website. Self-declared answers given by the respondents were analyzed based on the questions ‘How would the website be interesting to you?’, ‘What kind of information would you like to see on the website?’, ‘What do you think about pictures?’ and ‘What would these pictures have to show?’. Overall, 5 Dutch respondents and 7 Turkish respondents gave statements referring to this sub-category. The feature that was named as most important to create easy navigation on the website is the structuring of hosts and experiences (5 Dutch respondents and 5 Turkish respondents). For instance, a Dutch respondent indicated that a categorization such as in Bol.com, a well-known Dutch online shopping website, could be useful:
“If you would categorize them, as in like Bol.com, you know? (…) I would want to have, the type of experience, you have workshops, or sporty workshops, which I for instance would not be interested in. But I would love for instance, cooking classes or something creative. So you would have subcategories. Like you have in every shopping card, I would like something like that, very organized.” – Respondent 3 (NL)
Furthermore, a Turkish respondent stated the following:
“I want to easily arrange prices. I want to see the locations about it, maps (…) I choose for example Istanbul and I want to stay in Taksim. Then, I choose Taksim, and after that I want to see the places in Taksim, where can I stay in there. I want to minimize my search. For example price, below 100 Turkish Lira. Or nearest point to the Taksim (…) For example how many people live in the home, do they have a pet, maybe I am afraid of it. I want to get information about these kind of detailed things. I want to learn about it if it is a silent home, medium noise.” – Respondent 11 (TR)
Also, 2 Turkish respondents stated that they would like to organize the pictures into categories, such as city center, bazaar, regions or historical places. In addition, 2 Dutch respondents and 1 Turkish respondent would like to have easy-access to the website. One Dutch respondent illustrated this concept by stating that a Facebook log-in could be useful. Lastly, 1 Dutch respondent would like to see an instruction video about Withlocals on the website, and 1 Turkish respondent stated that it could be useful to include highlighted parts within the text.
32 Anxiety about online payment
This sub-category refers to a general feeling of concern about online payment through the website. A direct question was asked to the respondents, namely ‘How do you feel about it that the platform uses online payment?’. 5 Turkish respondents and 4 Dutch respondents reported some level of anxiety about online payment. The Turkish respondents who stated that they feel comfortable about online payment referred to the fact that online payment is a common practice in Turkey. For instance:
“In Turkey, I can easily make shopping from the internet, while I am using my credit card actually. I think it is safe.” – Respondent 11 (TR)
“I think every day we are usually using it, online shopping in our life. It is safe and not a big deal for me.” – Respondent 16 (TR)
The Turkish respondents who did not feel comfortable about online payment stated that their feeling of anxiety could be reduced if they could for instance pay the money in installments or if they know for certain that a security code is being used. The Dutch respondents who felt anxious about online payment stated that this feeling of anxiety could be reduced by looking at other websites to see what people say about the company Withlocals. For instance:
“The people from Withlocals, they decide what comes on the website and what not. So if people write a bad review about them, they can just delete it from the website. They can only keep the positive ones, so I don’t get a really fair view of it, so I would go to another website, to see all the reviews, from all the people, the bad and the good, and then I can make my decision.” – Respondent 4 (NL)
Collectivism versus Individualism
As mentioned earlier, individualistic cultures place more importance on self-realization, personal benefits and individual goals, whereas collectivistic cultures place more value on cohesion and take the interest of the in-group into account when making decisions. Furthermore, it has been shown that individualistic cultures prefer more rational, written text in website designs, whereas collectivistic cultures prefer more emotional appeals (Hermeking, 2006). Based on this, the researcher created two profile pages of a fake host named Nguyen Tran. One page was formed
33 along the lines of high-context communication and collectivism, consisting of various entertaining, personal pictures and information about the host’s family (version A) The other page was created according to low-context communication and individualism, consisting of less pictures, more text and an informative schedule of the tour (version B). Results show that both in the Dutch and Turkish group, 5 out of 10 respondents chose version A and 5 out of 10 of respondents version B.
The Dutch respondents who chose version A stated that they prefer to see this version because it is more personal and that is what Withlocals is about. For instance:
“I think the whole idea of Withlocals is to see a city through a person’s eyes and to actually meet a local. That is why I would pick the picture version, because it tells me something about the person, and I will want to see the city through that person’s eyes, so it is important to know the person, as I would participate in this to meet someone local instead of a tour guide.” – Respondent 10 (NL)
The Dutch respondents who chose version B indicated that they prefer this version since it gives an expectation and certainty about the experience.
“I think that I would prefer this one, because then you have more certainties about your tour, what you are going to do, with the other one you don’t have it.” – Respondent 4 (NL)
The Turkish respondents who chose version A indicated that they picked this version because it gives them certainty with who they are going to spend their time throughout the holiday. For instance:
“I will spend my time there during the travel right? So it would be nice to know the host’s everything, like background, also parents, family, because it is related to what kind of person the host is. So it is like, I wouldn’t like to go with a criminal or something.” – Respondent 19 (TR)
“I am choosing this one I guess. Because, I saw her family and I am afraid of, you know, they can be bad people, like criminals. You know, and I am giving importance to facial impressions, and they are looking like nice people, middle-class family, they are normal people and they seem very helpful and okay.” – Respondent 14 (TR)
Just like the Dutch respondents, the Turkish respondents who picked version B indicated that they prefer this version because it gives an expectation and certainty about the experience. For instance:
“ This one with the pictures is so cute, and I think so beneficial. The whole family, amazing, perfect. But I need to get information about what I am going to do. I want to be well organized, I want to plan
34 everything and everything goes very smoothly. I like these kind of holidays, that is why I choose this one (…)The main thing is, if I know everything about the tour, I feel safe. This is the most important point.” - Respondent 11 (TR)
Furthermore, an interesting finding emerged when the respondents were asked about pictures. 4 of the Dutch respondents indicated that they do not want to see too many pictures since this can take the charm away and can be too overwhelming. On the other hand, such a statement was only made by 1 Turkish respondent. Furthermore, 3 Turkish respondents stated that they prefer to see people in the pictures. For instance:
“I would like to see people in front of the monuments, that I can see they are enjoying the tour. I must see the guy in front of the monument with other tourists, so that I know if I choose him or her, I will be there and experience that similar landscape.” – Respondent 17 (TR)
In addition to the analysis of the fake host pages, the category of collectivism versus individualism can be divided into several sub-categories, namely ‘inclusion in social circle’, ‘punctuality’, ‘family influence’ and ‘personal connection’.
Inclusion in social circle
The sub-category refers to the extent that the respondents aim to maintain a relationship with the host after the experience and include him/her in one’s social circle. Turkey scored rather high on the question ‘How high do you estimate the chance on a scale of 1-10 that you will maintain contact with the host after the experience?’, namely a 7.9. On the other hand, The Netherlands scored a 5.8, creating a difference of 2 points. It should be noted that these responses were taken from an average of 9 respondents on each side, since one Dutch interviewee did not want to answer this question, and one Turkish respondent gave two different answers to the question. Furthermore, the question ‘How do you see your relationship with the host after the experience?’ was asked to the respondents. 7 Turkish respondents stated that they would like to invite the host to visit them in Turkey. This was only said by 3 Dutch respondents. Also, 3 Turkish respondents indicated that they could refer their friends to this particular host. This was not mentioned by any of the Dutch respondents. In addition, 5 Dutch respondents and 3 Turkish respondents stated that they could possibly add the host on Facebook.
35 Punctuality
This sub-category refers to the tolerability or intolerability of the host not being on time for the experience and changing the schedule. Throughout the interview, the respondents were asked the question ‘What would you think about it if the host is not on time for the experience?’. 7 Dutch respondents stated that they really want the host to be on time for the experience. For instance:
“I think if you offer to be a host, you should take your responsibility and be on time. For example, I am a person who will just wait and see what is going to happen. But there might also be some other people who become stressed and don’t know what to do anymore.”- Respondent 2 (NL)
“Yeah that’s not good, I wouldn’t like it. That’s not how I am raised. Maybe if she explains it later I would be ok with it (…) I would like to have some way to connect with this person, so I should be able to call her or to ask where she or he is. And if they don’t pick up the phone I would not know what to do.” – Respondent 1 (NL)
2 Dutch respondents stated that it would be okay if the host is late for approximately 15 minutes. For instance:
“A couple of years ago I would have thought it is a really bad thing, because we are Dutch, we really stick to the time, but since I went to Milan, it is just, in other cultures people are just late. It shouldn’t be an hour, but if it is just a couple of minutes, or 15 minutes, I wouldn’t even bother that much, because probably in the end you would stay for a little bit longer, and walk around an extra mile. Because that is just how these cultures are.” – Respondent 6 (NL)
Lastly, 1 Dutch respondent stated that it is no problem if the host is late for the experience. 30 minutes or 1 hour can be tolerated since it is a holiday and time should not be taken strictly while being on a vacation.
Furthermore, 4 Turkish respondents stated that they really want the host to be on time for the experience, and that it depends on the excuse of the host whether the delay is accepted. For instance:
“I don't like it (...) you know maybe he or she can be late if he or she is studying or working maybe, but just this one time, not more than one time. It is a bad thing for me, because that means the host you know, doesn't follow the schedule.” – Respondent 14 (TR)
36 Also, 3 Turkish respondents stated that 15 to 30 minutes late can be tolerated. If the host lets the tourist know in advance or if the host has a good excuse such as being stuck in a traffic jam, the delay of the experience can be accepted. The other 3 Turkish respondents stated that it is no problem if the host is not on time for the experience, and that 30 minutes to one hour late be tolerated. However, they would still like to hear the excuse why the host is late. For instance:
“That is fine, it can be tolerated. Because you know, maybe it is a Turkish mentality, we are not always on time. One hour, that could be tolerated. When you start to travel, you accept many strange things before the travel, what you are going to live, it all becomes an experience for me, for you.” – Respondent 15 (TR)
In addition, throughout the interview, the respondents were asked the question ‘What would you think about it if the host changes the schedule?’. 10 Dutch respondents stated that this could be acceptable but it depends on the reason, and it should be discussed with the tourist. This was also stated by 6 Turkish respondents. For instance:
“As long as it is in negotiation I think it is okay. Maybe he or she thinks another option is better, yeah, of course, everything is due to changes, so it might always change, but I think it should be discussed then. Not that you arrive and the trip is totally different from what you expected.” – Respondent 2 (NL)
“I must know why. That is the most important thing. For example sometimes the host says there is too much traffic, if we change the order, then we can get rid of the traffic, and first see this place and then this place. This makes sense. I want to hear a reasonable explanation.” – Respondent 11 (TR)
In addition, 2 Turkish respondents stated that they would not accept a change in the schedule. For instance:
“I don't like it (…) Then they don't give importance to me if he or she can easily change the schedule. It is not that good thing for me, it is not that trusted thing for me. And after the experience, I can no longer trust this site.” – Respondent 14 (TR)
Lastly, the remaining 2 Turkish respondents stated that a change in the schedule would be no problem at all, as long as for instance dinner times and the most important attractions are still included in the planning.
37 Family influence
This sub-category refers to the amount of influence one’s family has on the decision whether or not to book an experience through Withlocals. During the interview, the question ‘What would you do if your family said we do not want you to book an experience via Withlocals?’ was asked to the respondents. 9 Dutch respondents and 5 Turkish respondents stated that even if their parents would not agree, they would still book the experience since it is their own decision. For instance:
“I am a pretty logical person, if they can bring proper good counter-arguments, I would listen to that. Just weigh it you know, and take it into consideration (…) if they just bring another illogical argument, I would just wipe it away.” – Respondent 8 (NL)
“I would just still do it. Because it is my own decision and I will do whatever the hell I want (…) And it is their problem if they can’t deal with it. If I want to do something, I will do it, definitely.” – Respondent 7 (NL)
“Their ideas are important for me but I would do what I like. Of course I don’t want to risk my life or risk anything within my family, but you know, even if they say no, I would do it if I like it. And if I believe that this is safe and would be a good experience for me, I would do it.” – Respondent 20 (TR)
Furthermore, 1 Dutch respondent and 3 Turkish respondents stated that they would refrain from booking an experience through Withlocals if their family would not agree with it. For instance:
“If they do say, state a very confident no we don’t want that, I would expect them to have good reasons for that and I would take their word on it and I would not go.” – Respondent 10 (NL)
“I believe going somewhere, travelling, is for fun and if it will make my family unhappy, then I won’t do it, it is simple.” – Respondent 17 (TR)
In addition, 2 Turkish respondents stated that they simply would not discuss the concept of Withlocals with their parents at all in order to avoid a possible conflict. For instance:
“I just don’t want to talk about this (…) maybe they won’t be comfortable with it. If I say to my mum maybe, she would say why don’t you go to a hotel (…) they are a little bit old-fashioned that’s why. Maybe it would be difficult to tell them this.” – Respondent 18 (TR)
“If I decided to travel through this website, I wouldn’t ask them (…) there is a probability that they would not understand it and that would be time-loosing for me (…) They don’t understand, so yes, I
38 don’t want to lose the time and the opportunity for telling them. Yes, that is why, I wouldn’t tell them.” – Respondent 15 (TR)
Personal connection
This sub-category refers to behavioral and personal aspects of the host, named as desirable for creating a connection between the host and the tourist. Self-declared answers were given by the respondents based on the questions ‘What kind of host would you prefer for an experience?’, ‘What kind of things would you like the host to talk about?’, ‘What kind of behavior toward you do you expect from the host?’, ‘Do you have any preferences concerning the job that the host has, or if he or she has studied?’ and ‘How would it be for you if the host would want to introduce you to his/her family?’. Overall, 10 Dutch respondents and 10 Turkish respondents gave self-declared answers relating to this sub-category. The desired characteristics of the host are giving information about country/culture/daily life (7 Dutch respondents and 9 Turkish respondents), welcoming/friendly (7 Dutch respondent and 6 Turkish respondents), helpful/caring (4 Dutch respondents and 3 Turkish respondents), talkative (3 Dutch respondents and 3 Turkish respondents), happy/enthusiastic (3 Dutch respondents and 2 Turkish respondents), similar age (2 Dutch respondents and 3 Turkish respondents), open-minded (3 Dutch respondents and 2 Turkish respondents) and funny/able to have a laugh (2 Dutch respondents and 1 Turkish respondent). Furthermore, 4 Dutch respondents and 4 Turkish respondents stated that it would be good if the host has a university-level of thinking. For instance:
“If I would book such a thing, I would love it to be with a student from my own age group, that I can easily connect with.” – Respondent 7 (NL)
“The education level is important actually. Because you know, besides the culture, the educated people are more available to teach you something, to make you gain some experiences.” – Respondent 15 (TR)
Also, 6 Dutch respondents and 2 Turkish respondents indicated that it would be preferable if the host has a good level of English. Moreover, 3 Dutch respondents and 4 Turkish respondents stated that they would like to book an experience with a host who has experience in the tourism or hospitality industry. For instance:
“I really like the whole major in tourism at university. That is a sort of guarantee her English is pretty okay and she probably knows some stuff you know (…) She can actually talk about stuff, some history, culture. And probably also has this social outlook you know.” – Respondent 8 (NL)
39 “A professional can be more selectable I guess, because a professional host can experience more things than just hobby one. He would know what the travelers would like to see and have in the activities.”- Respondent 19 (TR)
In addition, 3 Turkish respondents stated that they would like a host with life experience. This was not stated by any of the Dutch respondents. For example:
“More experienced people can give you many feelings also, besides the tours and activities. Maybe they can guide you mentally, you can learn many things from them than a younger man or woman.” – Respondent 15 (TR)
“First choice, it will be older than me. I am almost 30, and I would like the host to be at least 45 years old (…) But then of course, I would like to have a host from university (…) I want the 45 years old guy because of his life experience, and the university student because of the creativity and the way of lifestyle maybe. Or how he or she sees the world, and the world's future, his country of course.” – Respondent 18 (TR)
Furthermore, an interesting finding is that 3 Dutch respondents stated that they would like the host to be understanding and accepting toward the difference in culture. This was stated by none of the Turkish respondents. For instance:
“They have to understand that in some things I am different because I am from a different country, to respect that.” – Respondent 4 (NL)
“If I get something wrong, that he or she doesn’t get upset, but understands that I just don’t know any better.” - Respondent 5 (NL)
Also, it was stated by 4 Turkish respondents that they would like their host to be easy-going and relaxed. For instance:
“I wouldn’t like to have a person who is like a control-freak, if I have to ask him or her if I can go to the toilet, or buy something from there. He or she would have to be okay with everything, easy-going and relaxed.” - Respondent 13 (TR)
Moreover, throughout the entire interview, one Dutch respondent kept stating his feelings about the fact that you have to pay the host for the experience. In his opinion, this does not aid in creating a personal connection between the tourist and the host as it is not a true cooperative experience when money is involved:
40 “It is not like these entrepreneurial projects like Couchsurfing because there is this commercial aspect to it (…) Not good, maybe a bit repulsive even (…) It is not people doing it for their feeling of society or the world, but as a way to make money (…) For my feeling, it tries to market itself as a thing which is for, you know, mutual connection and collaboration, and just something ground-level, for people to locally connect without the interference of big companies and the floating away of money. However, you do have to pay.” – Respondent 7
Lastly, toward the end of the interview, the question ‘How would it be for you if the host would want to introduce you to his/her family?’ was asked to the respondents. 8 Dutch respondents and 5 Turkish respondents stated that it would be great to visit the local’s family because this can teach the tourist something about the local culture. Furthermore, 2 Dutch respondents stated that it would be nice if the host would introduce him/her to the family because this would mean that the tourist is approved and really liked. Also, 2 Dutch respondents stated that they would feel honored if they were able to visit the family since this is a very personal area to enter into. For instance:
“I would be very honored. Well, of course, it is their personal sphere. And from my own perspective, this is not just something. To have a stranger come into this very vulnerable yet very personal space (…) Because I think, I would definitely not never bring a colleague to my family to meet them. I think it would be a very special experience.” – Respondent 3 (NL)
Moreover, 1 Turkish respondent stated that it would be good if the host invites the tourist to visit the family, since this shows that the host cares about the experience, and 2 other Turkish respondents stated that visiting the host’s family is a good thing since it can indicate if the host is trustworthy:
“I would be pleased, I would like that. Because in my opinion the family is the most important thing in the life, and I would like to meet with the family and I would like to see the relation with his or her family. Because if they are tight, they are good, they are good to each other. Probably the host will be a nice and trustable person.”- Respondent 18 (TR)
In addition, 1 Turkish respondent stated that she would like to visit the family in order to understand the memories and history of the host’s family members. Moreover, 1 Dutch respondent and 1 Turkish respondent stated that they would only visit the family if they would have time or really like the host. Lastly, 2 Dutch respondents stated that they would like to visit the family, but that they can also understand if people would not want to do this. For instance:
41 “I can understand if there are other tourists who don’t want to meet the family, who are just there for what they want to see, and for that person, but who don’t feel like meeting all of the family.” – Respondent 4 (NL)
“I would like to see a family and how they live. But I can imagine that others don’t feel the need to meet the family, so then it should be negotiated first.” - Respondent 2 (NL)
Power Distance
Power distance stands for the degree to which the less powerful members of a society accept and expect that power is distributed unequally (Hofstede as cited in de Mooij, 2004). In countries with high power distance, there exists more hierarchy and status between people. With a score of 66, Turkey scores rather high on this dimension and can be classified as a high power distance country (Hofstede, 2013). On the contrary, The Netherlands only score 38 and can be seen as a country low in power distance (Hofstede, 2013). In the domain of power distance, the sub- category in this study is identified as ‘hierarchy’.
Hierarchy
This sub-category refers to the extent that the tourist places importance on hierarchy and the social status of the host. As mentioned at the beginning of this chapter, the outcome of the question ‘How important is it to you that the host has a well-regarded social status?’ indicated that the Turkish respondents place more importance on the social status of the host (M = 4.2) than the Dutch respondents (M = 2.7). Furthermore, the aspect of respect for knowledge of the elderly became visible when discussing the sub-category of ‘personal connection’. 3 Turkish respondents indicated that they would like the host to be a bit older since a more mature host can have life experience and foster mental guidance. This was not stated by any of the Dutch respondents. Also, throughout the interview, 1 Turkish respondent stated that he would like to see information on the website about important people from a historical perspective and pictures of celebrities, since he is interested in receiving information about important people. Such a remark was not made by any of the Dutch respondents. For instance, when talking about pictures of people, he stated the following:
42 “People, hm. It is not my priority .Because it is not so different. Maybe when you go to Asia, it will be the same kind of people. If you go to Africa, you will know what kind of people you will see there. But of course, there should be some famous people maybe. Celebrities.” – Respondent 18 (TR)
Masculinity versus Femininity
As mentioned earlier, in a ‘tough’ masculine society, competition is one of the driving forces of success, while in a ‘tender’ feminine society, cooperation is a leading factor and value is placed on caring for others and the quality of life. The Netherlands only scores 14 on the dimension of masculinity, hence can be classified as a highly feminine society (Hofstede, 2013). Values such as personal growth and consensus are considered important. Furthermore, Turkey can also be classified as a relatively feminine society with a score of 45 on the dimension of masculinity (Hofstede, 2013). Although Turkey is not as feminine as The Netherlands, values such as sympathy and time spend with family and friends are considered important. In this study, the dimension of ‘masculinity versus femininity’ is refined into the sub-categories of ‘intrinsic motives’, ‘consensus between the tourist and the host’ and ‘competitive gain’.
Intrinsic motives
At the end of each interview, the respondents were asked the following question ‘What are the advantages and disadvantages of Withlocals?’. Self-declared answers given by the respondents that referred to an emotional, personal level were classified under this category. Especially, respondents indicated that the platform provides the opportunity to really get to know a local culture from the host’s perspective (7 Dutch respondents and 5 Turkish respondents). For instance:
“You get into contact with the locals, so you can really see from a local point of view how they live, and get to know some places that others might not know about, and to really get an insights into their culture and how they live.” – Respondent 2
“In Withlocals, you have more opportunities to be in the tradition and the local thing, and not in big organizations.” – Respondent 12 (TR)
Consensus between the tourist and the host
This sub-category refers to self-declared answers referring to the wish to create harmony between the tourist and the host. As stated earlier when discussing the sub-category of ‘punctuality’,
43 10 Dutch respondents and 6 Turkish respondents stated that changes in the schedule of the experience would be acceptable, but only if this would be negotiated or discussed. Also, when discussing the sub-category of ‘personal connection’, 4 Dutch respondents and 3 Turkish respondents stated that they would like the host to be caring and helpful.
Competitive gain
This sub-category refers to the competitive gain that tourists can possibly get out of booking an experience with Withlocals. 3 Dutch respondents and 3 Turkish respondents stated that an advantage of Withlocals is that you can cater the schedule to your own needs. Furthermore, 1 Dutch respondent and 4 Turkish respondents stated that booking an experience through Withlocals could perhaps be cheaper than big tour organizations. For instance:
“I think it will be cheaper in an economic sense, as you pay some local, amateur, it will be like a side salary for him. His occupation will be different and you will just pay him for some visits on a 2 day basis, for weekend or weekdays” – Respondent 17 (TR)
“I don’t know how comparison prices are, compared to a big tourism agency. If it is cheaper that would be a pro, if it is more expensive that would be a con”- Respondent 8 (NL)
Lastly, one Turkish respondent stated that the website can be seen as a game in which you would obtain a high score if you join Withlocals:
“There are lots of advantages, because you see the place, the culture, the person, and have many experiences through the website. In the end, you have the high score in this game, if you see the website as a game. Because you get many things in the end”- Respondent 15
Long Term Orientation versus Short Term Orientation
As stated earlier, people coming from a long-term oriented society tend to place more value on future relationships. For instance, in a buyer-seller situation the goal is to open a long-term relationship, in which the buyer will receive what he/she aims for, however should also look after the interests of the seller (Ferraro, 2010). On the other hand, short-term oriented societies focus on achieving fast results. In a business situation, the aim is to close a deal and to get as much advantage out of it as possible (Ferraro, 2010). In this study, the category of long term orientation versus short term orientation is defined by the sub-category of ‘reciprocal intentions’.
44 Reciprocal intentions
The Netherlands scores 44 on the dimension of long term orientation versus short term orientation and can be classified as being a short-term oriented society (Hofstede, 2013). Even though there is no data for Turkey on this dimension, results indicate that the Turkish respondents show signs of being a long-term oriented society. As mentioned earlier when discussing the sub- category of ‘inclusion in social circle’, 7 Turkish respondents stated that they would like to invite the host to come to Turkey and stay with them. This was only said by 3 Dutch respondents. Furthermore, 3 Turkish respondents indicated that they could refer their friends to this particular host. This was not mentioned by any of the Dutch respondents.
45 Chapter 4
Discussion
The previous chapter has shown several interesting findings with regard to the effect of cultural background on expectations and preferences of Turkish and Dutch respondents toward the website Withlocals and the local host. This research was set out to answer the main research question ‘Does cultural background influence the attitudes of Turkish and Dutch young adults toward collaborative consumption on the platform Withlocals?’. Results indicate that in several respects, cultural background does indeed influence the expectations and preferences of the Turkish and Dutch young adults toward collaborative consumption on the platform Withlocals. In order to answer this in more detail, three separate sub-questions were created. Below, these three questions will be elaborated upon by interpreting and comparing the results with previous literature and expectations.
What kind of information and design features would Dutch and Turkish young adults like to see on the website Withlocals?
In this study, two fake host pages were created. It was expected that the majority of the Turkish respondents would opt for version A (created along the lines of high context communication and collectivism) and the majority of the Dutch respondents for version B (created along the lines of low context communication and individualism). However, this turned out not to be the case. In both groups, half of the respondents picked version A and the other half version B. These results do not align with previous studies by for instance Ju-Pak (1999) who found that rational, fact-based appeals were more prominent in website designs from individualistic cultures and emotional and symbolic appeals in website designs from collectivistic cultures (as cited in Hermeking, 2006). The reason why 5 of the Turkish participations opted for version B is out of a feeling of uncertainty – they want to verify that the experience is well-planned and will go smoothly. For this, a schedule was preferred over the information about the host. The 5 Dutch participants who opted for version A stated that it is more personal and that is what Withlocals is about. Apparently the idea behind Withlocals, namely to book an experience with a local, created a different set of preferences. This outcome aligns with the fact that The Netherlands is a highly feminine society (Hofstede, 2013). As stated by Zahedi et al (2006), feminine cultures have more
46 emotional appeal and social presence in their websites than masculine societies. As such, it could be explained that due to the personal connection of Withlocals, half of the Dutch respondents were more attracted to a host page with more emotional and social cues. Moreover, it was expected that due to the high score on uncertainty avoidance, the Turkish respondents would feel more cautious about an online payment system on the website than the Dutch respondents. However, this turned out not to be the case as not much difference was found between the Dutch and Turkish respondents with regard to anxiety about online payment. When analyzing data, it is always important to keep a broader outlook. For instance, economic conditions, political trends and social movements can influence phenomena (Corbin and Strauss, 1990). The Turkish respondents who stated that they feel comfortable about online payment actually referred to the fact that online payment is a common practice in Turkey. Therefore, they had no concern with regard to the feature of online payment on the website. Even the Turkish respondents who did report some level of anxiety about online payment stated that their feeling of anxiety could be reduced if they could for instance have the possibility to pay the money in installments. Again, these two statements referred to the normality of online payment in the respondents’ daily lives. Earlier in this study, it was mentioned that sub-cultures within a country might influence results. Apparently, a metropolis such as Istanbul in which everything is available creates a situation in which online payment can more easily occur and flourish. Also, it was expected that the Turkish respondents would be more eager to have the opportunity to contact the website than Dutch respondents, due to the influence of uncertainty avoidance. However, results indicated that such a wish was not very prominent and that there is not much difference between the concerns of Dutch and Turkish respondents. On the other hand, 3 Dutch respondents stated that they would like to see reviews of the website Withlocals on an independent website. Something like this was not mentioned by any of the Turkish respondents. Possibly this has to do with concerns toward online payment, since in order to reduce the anxiety about online payment, Dutch respondents named the possibility to look at other websites to see what people say about the website Withlocals. Moreover, results show that both Dutch and Turkish respondents would like to have the possibility to create easy navigation on the website by structuring hosts and experiences according to for instance age, type of experience or location. Also, they would like to see a description and picture of the experience and general information about how the platform works. These results align with the study of Marcus and Gould (2001) who argue that websites coming from a culture high in uncertainty avoidance, implement design choices such as navigation schemes to prevent
47 users from becoming lost and attempts to show the outcome of an action, in order for consumers to know what to expect. Lastly, as mentioned before, trust is an important factor in uncertain situations. Because of the anticipated face-to-face interaction, it was expected that both Turkish and Dutch consumers would employ strategies to warrant the identity of the host and to anticipate upon the experience. Results support these expectations and show that both Dutch and Turkish young adults expect the identity of the host to be verified by a general description and picture of the host and the experience on the website. Reviews/ratings about the host from other travelers were also named as important, especially by the Turkish respondents. In addition, the criteria of host selection as determined by Withlocals were named as desirable, especially by the Dutch respondents. These results align with the study of Gibbs et al (2011) in which it is argued that one of the most used strategies to form a consistent correlation between an online and offline persona is by referring to third party messages. Even though Withlocals is not an online dating site, results indicate that the aspect of personal relationship creates a parallel with the sphere of online dating due to the anticipated face-to-face interaction.
How do Dutch and Turkish young adults describe their preferences and expectations concerning the local host in Southeast Asia?
Firstly, results show that Turkish respondents place more importance on the social status of the host than Dutch respondents. This can explained by the dimension of power distance, in which more hierarchy exists between people. As mentioned earlier, Turkey is a high power distance culture; hence it comes as no surprise that status is regarded as more important. In addition, results show that 3 Turkish respondents state that they prefer the host to be older than them since a more mature host has life experience and can foster mental guidance. This was not mentioned by any of the Dutch respondents. This difference could be explained by the fact that in countries with more hierarchy, respect for knowledge of the elderly is naturally more prominent. As a result, it could be that the Turkish respondents were more compelled to think of the combination of life experience and age than the Dutch respondents. In addition, results from the questionnaire indicate that Turkish respondents prefer a host who sticks to the schedule during the experience. This outcome can be explained by the high score of Turkey on the dimension of uncertainty avoidance, namely 85, as compared to The Netherlands with a score of 53 (Hofstede, 2013). Possibly, the Turkish respondents feel more comfortable with
48 the schedule that was presented to them beforehand as this can guarantee a feeling of safety. Also, results show that the majority of the Dutch respondents expect the host to be on time for the experience. This outcome coincides with the fact that The Netherlands is a M-time oriented culture, in which time is treated as something that must be used efficiently and in which timetables and deadlines are valued (Ferraro, 2010).
Thirdly, results show that Turkish respondents attach more importance to information about cultural customs and norms of the host than the Dutch respondents. This difference is significant and could again be explained by the fact that collectivistic cultures place more importance on harmony within the social group. Therefore, it could be that the Turkish respondents would like to know how the society in the host’s country is structured. On the other hand, 3 Dutch respondents stated that they would like the host to be understanding and accepting toward the difference in culture, since the tourist comes from a different country. Also, 2 Dutch respondents stated that they can understand if there are tourists who do not like to visit the host’s family. On the contrary, 2 Turkish respondents stated that it would be good to see the family of the host, since the family gives a good impression about the kind of person the host could be. These results again align with characteristics of an individualistic culture in which more importance is placed on self-realization and individual goals, whereas in collectivistic cultures, social ties are more prominent and one’s identity more depends on the wishes of the social group (de Mooij, 2004). Furthermore, it was found that Turkish respondents place more value on the continuance of a relationship with the host after the experience than the Dutch respondents. Also, Turkish respondents estimated the chance to maintain a relationship with the host after experience higher than the Dutch respondents. In addition, the majority of the Turkish respondents mentioned that they would like to invite the host to come visit them in Turkey and several respondents stated that they could refer their friends to this particular host. This can be explained by the fact that collectivistic cultures have a P-time orientation, in which more importance is being placed on long- term social relationships (Ferraro, 2010). Also, these results align with the study by Pavlou and Chai (2002), who found that consumers coming from a more long-term and collectivistic culture include e-commerce sellers into their in-group and aim to maintain a harmonious bond with them. On the other hand, 5 Dutch respondents stated that they would like to add the host on Facebook, whereas this was only mentioned by 3 Turkish respondents. It should be noted that all of the respondents in this study are frequent Facebook users; hence this could not have had any influence on this result. The fact that the Dutch respondents are more prone to state that they would like to
49 add the host on Facebook could be explained by the fact that The Netherlands is a more individualistic society in which social ties are not that strong. Adding someone on Facebook is not as much of a social obligation as inviting the host or promoting him within one’s circle of friends, and falls more under a M-time oriented culture in which relationships are more short-term oriented (Ferraro, 2010). Lastly, not many results were found with regard to the dimension of masculinity versus femininity. However, results do show that in the situation of a change in the experience schedule by the host, Dutch participants place high value on discussion and consequently, consensus with regard to the proposed change. This can be explained by the fact that The Netherlands is a highly feminine society, in which notions such as agreement and compromise are considered important.
How does the opinion of one’s family with regard to booking an experience influence Dutch and Turkish young adults?
It was expected that Turkish respondents would be more influenced by the opinion of their family when deciding whether or not to book an experience via Withlocals, due to the importance of the in-group in collectivistic cultures. On the other hand, it was anticipated that the majority of the Dutch respondents would not be that influenced by the opinion of their family since in individualistic cultures, the focus lies on self-beliefs and social ties are not as strong as in collectivistic cultures. Results support the expectations. Almost all Dutch respondents stated that they would still book the experience even if the family would not agree. Furthermore, 3 Turkish respondents stated that they would refrain from booking an experience if their family would not agree, and 3 other Turkish respondents stated that they prefer not to discuss the concept of Withlocals with their family at all in order to avoid a possible conflict. These results align with the characteristics of a collectivistic culture, in which it is important to maintain cohesion within the social group.
Limitations of this research
This study has several limitations. Firstly, the coding was done by one person only, namely the researcher. As a result, the subjectivity of the researcher coming from the Dutch cultural background might have influenced certain interpretations, since no inter-rater reliability took place in order to see if homogeneity would occur if more people would code and interpret the results. In addition, only a limited amount of respondents were interviewed for this study (N = 20), and all
50 respondents came from the province of Noord-Brabant, The Netherlands, and the city of Istanbul, Turkey. Therefore, results could be different when larger samples are interviewed, especially when interviewees would be recruited from different places in The Netherlands or Turkey. Lastly, due to the fact that all interviews were conducted in a face-to-face manner, the influence of social desirability could have played a role in the (self-declared) answers of the respondents. Social desirability refers to the tendency of respondents to give answers that are considered more socially acceptable than the actual answer they have in mind (Callegaro as cited in Lavrakas, 2008). This is done to create a socially approved image of themselves and to avoid possible criticism (Callegaro as cited in Lavrakas, 2008).
Practical implications
From a practical perspective, implications from this study show that transparency on the website Withlocals is important. The platform should portray both positive and negative reviews/ratings about Withlocals in general. An idea could be that webmasters respond to negative reviews and show openness about the way of handling problems. Also, an explanation about the procedure of host selection is important in order to reduce a possible feeling of uncertainty on the site of the tourists. In addition, the website should offer features to structure the hosts and experiences according to for instance age, type of experience and location. Also, it should offer and even promote the possibility to add reviews/ratings about a particular host and experience, and the option to contact the host before the experience. These are especially desirable for countries high in uncertainty avoidance. Also, due to the aspect of ambiguity and future face-to-face interaction, cues which create more salience, such as pictures or videos about the host and the tour, activity, home dinner or places of accommodation, are highly important. In addition, the website should clearly state which advantages it offers as opposed to regular tour operators. For more feminine cultures, it can be an idea to highlight the chance to explore a culture in-depth and have a personal connection with the host. On top of this, from a more masculine viewpoint, it can be an idea to add the competitive benefits such as the uniqueness of catering a schedule to one’s own needs and the chance to book an experience for a cheaper price as compared to big tourism agencies. Also, for countries high in power distance, it could possibly be an idea to incorporate a little section about important people and celebrities in a particular country. Also, Withlocals should keep in mind that different tourists have different expectations with regard to the host. For instance, more collectivistic cultures prefer to maintain a relationship with
51 the host after the experience and are possibly more likely to see the platform as a medium to form new friendships abroad. Even though individualistic cultures are also eager to meet new people and get to know different cultures, they have less of an expectation about a future friendship and are more short-term oriented. Perhaps advertisement strategies about Withlocals in a more collectivistic culture could be aimed at creating new friendships whereas commercials in more individualistic cultures could be aimed at personal goals in which meeting new cultures can be one of the new ‘must-do’ travel hypes.
Academic implications and directions for future research
Due to the fact that the qualitative method of interviewing was used, this study has given a more in-depth understanding of the attitudes of Dutch and Turkish young adults toward a relatively new concept, namely collaborative consumption. Several aspects emerged from this research which cannot be explained in the present study. For instance, only 2 Turkish respondents gave self- declared answers about the importance of a host who speaks English, whereas this was stated by 6 Dutch respondents. Perhaps this is the result of the fact that answers were self-declared and not explicitly asked for. However, explanations at this point can only be speculation; therefore further research into the various classifications is necessary. Also, this study confined itself to the influence of culture. Future research could be possibly take economic, political or social movements into account as influencing respondents’ attitudes toward collaborative consumption. In addition, the same study could be repeated with different cultural groups, which differ to a greater extent on Hofstede’s dimensions of national cultures. Moreover, it might be interesting to take the perspective of the host instead of the tourist, and to investigate how the host actually sees his or her role in this buyer-seller situation which is characterized by the aspect of personal connection.
52 References
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56 Appendix
Appendix A: Interview Guideline
If the interviewee is interested, briefly explain what this study is about. Also, ask for consent to audiotape the interview and to use the answers for research purposes only. Make the interviewee feel comfortable and tell that if he/she does not want to answer a particular question or wants to stop with the interview, he/she is free to do so. During the entire interview, it is important to keep in mind that deviations from the template can be made if this occurs in the natural flow of the conversation. However, the interviewer will make sure that all the core questions as stated below are asked throughout the interview in order to ensure consistency for further analysis of the responses.
Questions to make the interviewee feel comfortable and to get into the topic of this study:
1. Could you tell me your name and age? 2. Could you tell me where you are from? 3. What kind of hobbies do you have? If travelling is mentioned, continue with 4. If travelling is not mentioned, ask ‘Do you also like travelling?’ 4. What places have you travelled to? 5. Have you ever heard of collaborative consumption? If yes, continue with 6. If not, explain what collaborative consumption is about, use examples such as Couchsurfing or AirBnB. Explain about the aspect of person to person connection. 6. Have you ever participated yourself in something like this? If yes, let the interviewee tell his/her story. If not, continue with 7. 7. Explain that there is a new platform, a start-up called Withlocals. Give the interviewee a handout with information about Withlocals, and let him/her read it. Answer any questions the interviewee might have and make sure that the idea of Withlocals is completely understood.
57 The actual interview (make sure that the audiotape is on):
8. What do you think about the idea of Withlocals? 9. How would the website be interesting to you? Probe: For example, would you like to see pictures, stories, information, small video’s, news flashes etc. 10. What do you think about pictures of buildings, monuments in a website? Why? 11. And what do you think about pictures of people? 12. Is there something like too many pictures? Does something like that exist for you? 13. What do you think about information in a website? What kind of information would you like to see on the platform Withlocals? 14. How many options of hosts do you want to have or see for one particular area? Why? 15. How many pictures would you like to see per page? Why? 16. What would these pictures have to show? Why? Probe: For instance, the environment, pictures of the experience, pictures of the host, of the host’s family, of the transport that will be used etc. 17. Show the different picture versions (one with more text, one with more pictures). Which version do you prefer/prioritize when you are going to book an experience? 18. How do you feel about meeting with someone you have not yet seen in person? How come you think? If they say they feel unsecure, ask what could make them feel more comfortable? What kind of things would have to be on the website for you to feel secure/comfortable? Why? Probe: again refer to the information and pictures, but also ask about references, chat system, would you like to have spoken to the host before you book the experience? 19. What would people in your family say about it if you booked a tour or activity on Withlocals? 20. What would you do if your family said we do not want you to book an experience via Withlocals? 21. How do you feel about it that the platform uses online payment? Why do you feel this way? 22. What kind of host would you prefer for an experience? Why? 23. What would you think about it if the host changes the schedule? Why? 24. Would you first like to get to know the host or immediately start with the experience?
58 25. What would you think about it if the host isn’t on time for the experience? Suppose you agreed to meet at 08.00 o clock, and the host is there at 08.15 or 08.30, what do you think about this? 26. Do you have any preferences concerning the job that the host has, or if he has studied? Does this matter to you? Why does it/doesn’t it? 27. What kind of behavior toward you do you expect from the host? How come? Probe: for instance treat you as a friend, treat you with respect and more special etc. 28. What kind of things would you like the host to talk about? Why? 29. How would it be for you, if the host would want to introduce you to his/her family? Why? 30. How do you see your relationship with the host after the experience? How come? Probe: Add him on Facebook, Invite him/her to your home, maintain contact, refer him to your friends and family, meet him/her again. 31. How high do you estimate the chance on a scale of 1-10 that you will maintain contact with the host after the experience? 32. What are the advantages and disadvantages of Withlocals? 33. Do you have any thoughts you would like to share?
This is the end of the interview, thank you very much for your time!
59 Appendix B: Questionnaire
Please indicate on a scale of 1-7 (1 not important at all, 7 very important) how important the following are to you:
1. How important is it to you to read reviews about a particular host from other customers before you book an experience?
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
2. How important is it to you to read reviews about the website Withlocals before you book an experience through this platform?
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
3. How important is it to you to see a complete schedule including all the details of the experience before you book?
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
4. How important is the opinion of your family to you when deciding to book an experience?
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
5. How important is it to you that the host is not distracted by other things while being with you on the experience?
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
6. How important is it to you that the host sticks to the schedule during the experience?
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
60 7. How important is it to you that the host gives you information about his/her cultural customs and norms?
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
8. How important is it to you to visit significant monuments which symbolize power?
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
9. How important is it to you that the host has a well-regarded social status?
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
10. How important is it to you that the host has a respectable physical appearance (e.g. beautiful clothing) while being with you on the experience?
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
11. How important is it to you that the host makes no embarrassing mistakes while being your guide on the experience?
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
12. How important is it to you to maintain a relationship with the host after the experience?
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
61 Appendix C: Fake Host Pages Version A
62 Version B
63 Appendix D: Hand-out
What is Withlocals? A website which aims to connect locals in Southeast Asia and tourists directly, without the intervention of big tourism agencies. The idea is that the local population in Southeast Asia can offer ‘experiences’ to tourists from all over the world through this online platform. The ‘experiences’ can be divided into ‘tour’, ‘activity’ and ‘eat’.
TOUR Again, instead of a tour organized by a big tour agency, a local can organize the tour and take the tourists to nice places / attractions in a city.
ACTIVITY This refers to an active experience organized by the local. Think about a Thai boxing class, an afternoon in which the local teaches the tourist how to drive a Tuk-Tuk, or a fruit-carving workshop.
EAT Instead of eating in a restaurant, the idea is have a home dinner with a local (and possibly his/her family). The tourist and the local can cook together, or the local can cook for the tourist.
How long does a tour, activity or home dinner (eat) take? All experiences differ in duration. For instance, tours and activities can vary from one day to multiple days, resulting in the possibility of booking a complete tour or activity package on the website. Also, a home dinner can last only a few hours, or it may cover an entire evening in which the local and tourist cook various dishes together. Accommodation can or cannot be included.
How does it work? Both tourists and local hosts have profiles on the website. The local hosts can offer tours, activities and/or home dinners on the website. They can give all the information, pictures and details they want. For example, a planning for the tour or activity, a menu for the home dinner, and the price the tourist has to pay. The tourist books the tour/activity/home dinner. Both locals and tourists can rate each other and say whether or not this host or tourist is nice to spend time with.
How does the payment work? The payment is done online. The tourist has to pay the full amount through the website, before the meeting with the host and the start of the tour, activity or home dinner.
64 Appendix E: Sub-categories and classifications
1. Uncertainty Avoidance: sub-categories and classifications
Verification of the host NL TR Overall amount of the respondents (N=20) 10 10
Video of the host 1 2 Pictures of the host 8 9 Review/Ratings of the host 4 7 Motivation of the host to join Withlocals 1 - General description (work, study, age, family) of the host 7 4 Possibility to contact host before the experience 1 3 Criteria of host selection as determined by Withlocals 4 1
Verification of the website Withlocals NL TR Overall amount of respondents (N=20) 6 4
Reviews of the website Withlocals 3 - Blog of the Withlocals team and professional travelers who test out the experiences 1 1 New updates about Withlocals on the website 1 1 Possibility to contact the website Withlocals 1 1 General explanation of how the organization Withlocals works 4 3
Anticipation of the experience NL TR Overall amount of the respondents (N=20) 10 10
Video of the experience - 2 Picture of the experience 10 10 Music of the experience, such as elephant sounds for an elephant safari - 2 Review/Rating of the experience 2 2 Map/Location of the experience 1 3 Possible dangers of the experience - 1 Place of accommodation during the experience 4 5
65 Insurance information about the experience 1 - Financial information about the experience 3 5 Information about the country and the culture - 2 General description of the experience such as what to see, what to bring 7 8
Navigation on the website NL TR Overall amount of respondents (N=20) 5 7
Easy-access to the website, such as a Facebook log-in 2 1 Instruction video 1 - Highlighted parts within the text - 1 Structuring of hosts and experiences 5 5 Structuring of pictures in categories - 2
Anxiety about online payment NL TR Overall amount of respondents (N=20) 4 5
2. Collectivism versus Individualism: sub-categories and classifications
Inclusion in social circle NL TR Overall amount of the respondents (N=20) 7 9
Invite the host to home country of tourist 3 7 Refer host to friends of tourist - 3 Add host on Facebook 5 3 Average of question 24 * 5.8 7.9
* Question 24: How high do you estimate the chance on a scale of 1-10 that you will maintain contact with the host after the experience? Average taken from 9 Dutch respondents and 9 Turkish respondents.
Punctuality NL TR Overall amount of the respondents (N=20) 10 10
66
Host should be on time for the experience 7 4 Host can be 15 to 30 minutes late for the experience 2 3 Host can be 30 minutes to one hour late for the experience 1 3 Changes in the schedule are possible but need to be discussed 10 6 Changes in the schedule are not tolerated at all - 2 Changes in the schedule are acceptable - 2
Family influence NL TR Overall amount of the respondents (N=20) 10 10
Book the experience even if family does not agree 9 5 Don’t book the experience if family does not agree 1 3 Don’t explain anything about the experience to the family at all - 2
Personal connection NL TR Overall amount of the respondents (N=20) 10 10
A happy/enthusiastic host 3 2 A talkative host 3 3 A welcoming/friendly host 7 6 Host is same age as tourist 2 3 A relaxed/easy-going host - 4 A helpful/caring host 4 3 An open-minded host 3 2 Host is understanding toward customer’s culture 3 - Host is able to be funny/to have a laugh 2 1 Host should give information about country, culture and daily life 7 9 Host is a student/ has university-level 4 4 Host can speak good English 6 2 Host has experience in the tourism or hospitality industry 3 4 Host has an older age, which creates life experience - 3 If the host introduces me to his/her family it would mean I am 2 - approved/really liked I am honored if the host introduces me to his/her family 2 - I can imagine that other tourists would not like to meet the host’s 2 - family If I have time I can visit the host’s family but it depends on me 1 1 Visiting the host’s family can teach me about the local culture 8 5
67 Visiting the host’s family shows that the host cares about the - 1 experience Visiting the family is good as it can give an idea if the host is - 2 trustworthy since family gives an indication who the person is Visiting the host’s family is good as it shows the memories of the - 1 family
3. Power Distance: sub-category and classifications
Hierarchy NL TR Overall amount of the respondents (N=20) 0 3
Respect for knowledge of the elderly - 3
Information about important people in a historical perspective and - 1 celebrities
4. Masculinity versus Femininity: sub-categories and classifications
Intrinsic motives NL TR Overall amount of the respondents (N=20) 7 5
An advantage of Withlocals is that you can get to know the local 7 5 culture
Consensus between the tourist and the host NL TR Overall amount of the respondents (N=20) 10 8
Changes in the schedule are possible but need to be discussed 10 6 A helpful/caring host 4 3
Competitive gain NL TR Overall amount of the respondents (N=20) 3 5
68
You can cater the schedule to your personal needs 3 3 Booking an experience through Withlocals can possibly be cheaper 1 4 than booking with big tour organizations
5. Long Term Orientation versus Short Term Orientation: sub-category and classifications
Reciprocal intentions NL TR Overall amount of the respondents (N=20) 3 7
Invite the host to home country of tourist 3 7 Refer host to friends of tourist - 3
69